Granite Slab For Pricking Irons?

[ARFFGuy]

Hi everyone,

I've been slowly accumulating the tools I need to make my first few simple projects (cardholders, bifold wallet, tool roll etc.). I have a few Seiwa diamond pricking irons for making the holes and I was planning on using a large clean and sanded pine wood round with a plastic cutting board on top as a work surface to punch the holes on (I live in a small townhouse and don't have a garage or spare room to work in). Would this work or do I need to source out a granite slab for this type of work? I do plan on getting into some simple tooling work eventually, but for now its going to be simple projects with no tooling and no rivets or snaps. I'd also like recommendations for something to strike these irons with as well as something that will work for when I start tooling. I know there are several different options and I'll eventually end up with 3 or 4 different striking tools, but for getting started I was thinking of getting a basic poly maul like this one http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0006618PO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB.

Cheers,

Paul

[TinkerTailor]

Punch straight into the end grain of the pine round. It will be easier on the chisel than the plastic. If it gets stuck in the plastic it is more likely to break than the wood. End grain wood is the original self healing cutting surface. The plastic is easier to cut on with knives..

If the round is small enough to put in your lap, it will be almost silent. On the table, expect your neighbours to hear some thumping.

Edited January 24, 2016 by TinkerTailor

[ARFFGuy]

If the round is small enough to put in your lap, it will be almost silent. On the table, expect your neighbours to hear some thumping.

I was planning on cutting it to a comfortable height for so it could sit on the ground while I was in a chair

[TinkerTailor]

I wasn't sure if you were referring to a "wood cookie" or an actual round. I heated with wood for many years and i see you mean a real round. Some of the apt dwellers on here think any piece of tree 2" thick is a round.... That thumpin stump will serve you well. The mass should help alot with the noise as well as maximizing the damage productivity of your hammering........Check out nigel armitages videos if you have not already. He has a really cool stump setup. His tools and stitching clam are attached to it..

[ARFFGuy]

Check out nigel armitages videos if you have not already. He has a really cool stump setup. His tools and stitching clam are attached to it..

That's where I got the idea from! I live in North Vancouver but I spend a fair amount of time in the Cariboo so I have a good source for large, pre-dried hunks of pine. Any thoughts on the maul? poly maul vs poly mallet vs rawhide mallet?

[TinkerTailor]

That's where I got the idea from! I live in North Vancouver but I spend a fair amount of time in the Cariboo so I have a good source for large, pre-dried hunks of pine. Any thoughts on the maul? poly maul vs poly mallet vs rawhide mallet?

I never had a rawhide I liked. To be honest i break the rules and use a 3lb rock drilling hammer for alot of stuff, most of my hole punching and hand setting. Not worried about tool damage using a steel hammer. They have long handles, i can dress them up at least a few times, and they last way better if you hit them straight without a limp wrist. I have a crappy wooden mallet that i got at the dollar store for tooling. I don't do alot of tooling.

maul vs mallet? I look at it as a work position issue, If your elbow is on the bench, the maul with the head tapered puts the face of the striking surface level with the bench when you hit the tool. If you are standing and hitting with your elbow in the air, use a mallet. That is why cobblers hammers have such an angled face, they are hammering on things at eye height, so the face angle keeps them from having to raise their arm so high to swing.

For other stuff i have a couple ball peens, a couple sheetmetal hammers, a cobblers hammer, couple tack hammers, a tinners rivet hammer and some others. I may have more hammers than i need........Funny thing is i actually have uses for all of them.

Its amazing the ways humans have found to smash stuff with a mass on a stick...

[ARFFGuy]

Thanks for the input Tinker! I think I'll get a maul and a mallet to try and see what I like better

[TinkerTailor]

Btw, skip the craft-tool.

Check this lee valley mallet:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=30003&cat=1,41504,43688

Its cheaper and way nicer.

Edit: just checked link in original post to amazon, that one looks like a good deal, provided the head stands up.

Edited January 24, 2016 by TinkerTailor

[ARFFGuy]

That's great, Thanks Tinker. I have a Lee Valley on my way to work!

[billybopp]

Where poundy pound implements are concerned, don't forget to look at your local auto parts and home improvement stores! Some of the stuff they sell there is suitable for leatherwork, and in some cases exactly the same thing for less cash.

One of my favorites is a dead blow hammer, which is really nice for 3D stamps and other bigger stamps. You don't get those double strikes so much with a dead blow. Double strikes might make coins more valuable, but for leather not so much.

Bill

[TinkerTailor]

Where poundy pound implements are concerned, don't forget to look at your local auto parts and home improvement stores! Some of the stuff they sell there is suitable for leatherwork, and in some cases exactly the same thing for less cash.

One of my favorites is a dead blow hammer, which is really nice for 3D stamps and other bigger stamps. You don't get those double strikes so much with a dead blow. Double strikes might make coins more valuable, but for leather not so much.

Bill

I forgot dead blows, they are cheap and effective, however they dont last long on punching and stamping duty for me. I have swung a hammer alot in my life and am pretty good with one. I have to be conscious to move the hammer around with them, because i hit in exactly the same spot every time, and end up drilling a hole in the face of the hammer with the stamp because they tend to be too soft.

[impulse]

ARFFGuy

Another option for a hammering surface is to obtain a granite slab for tooling and get some cheap cork tiles to lay on top for using the pricking irons. This absorbs the sound as well as protects the points of the tool when punching holes.

Cheers

Lois

[johnv474]

On top of your wood you can also put a piece of scrap 8 Oz veg tan. When you hit your stitching chisels in, then you won't have to worry as much about them even reaching the wood... and you know the leather won't ruin the tips. By the way if you contact a place that installs granite countertops you can usually get a sink cutout or a scrap end piece from their dumpster for free or nearly free.

[ARFFGuy]

Thanks for the replies Impulse and johnv, definitely giving me some more options to think about. With the wood round I plan on de-barking it and sanding the top smooth as it will double as an end table for beside our couch, thus saving me the hassle of hauling it up from our storage unit every time I want to work. Also, pine is a really soft wood so i think it will be fine on the tool ends. Thanks for the tip about the countertop stores, I'll be calling around to some local countertop stores to see what I can find for free/cheap. I'll also keep the cork tiles in mind for when I do get a granite slab. I may even look at gluing them to the bottom of the granite and using it on my kitchen table.

Cheers,

Paul

[Nuttish]

You can get a 3" thick granite surface plate for a machine shop on Amazon Prime for less than $50 shipped.

[whistler]

......Check out nigel armitages videos if you have not already. He has a really cool stump setup. His tools and stitching clam are attached to it..

TinkerTailor what is your thought on the species of wood in Nigel's setup? Every time I watch one of his videos my attention ends up on that round! I given thoughts to trying a sycamore,got any opinions?

[TinkerTailor]

Whatever works and you have.handy. Stay away from woods that split easily. I have a mountain ash round because that is the type of tree that blew over in yard next door in a wind storm.

[whistler]

I think sycamore is prone to check. We have ash an I actually have some pretty nice pieces waiting to be split into firewood. They've been cut 18 months or so I think I'll dig through my pile.

[ARFFGuy]

I'll be using a chunk of pine beetle kill from up north. It's free, plentiful, and its virtually kiln dried already. Hopefully it wont split on me too soon.